Taking Control
by daily-chan
Summary: What if Sirius had learned about the Blood Quill and wanted answers, going to Hogwarts to get those answers. Warnings for strong language, Umbridge and Dumbledore bashing and possible OOC-ness. Rating is for possibly considered strong language.


Taking Control

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. If I did…Sirius and Remus would have never died._

_Warnings: Strong language, hurting a toad, Umbridge and Dumbledore bashing and OOC-ness._

_This takes place in the same "Universe" as Home, That Man and Nightly Conversations but don't really need to be read to be able to read this story. Events that happened in OotP do not necessarily happen in my stories. Such as the attack on Arthur Weasley did not take place because Harry doesn't dream about Voldemort's actions._

_Rating: T._

_This is written as friendship. If you want to see it as slash, be my guest :)_

_Prompt for this story:_

_Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire. The lines "He came back to the country just because my scar twinged. He'll probably come bursting right into the castle if I tell him someone's entered me for the Triwizard Tournament."_

_And I wondered…what If Sirius had learned about the Blood Quill?_

_This story is what ran away with me as a result._

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Taking Control.

It had been a relatively quiet dinner at Hogwarts, or at least as quiet as Hogwarts ever got just before the Christmas Holidays started. The first hint Harry got that things were going to change soon were the hairs in his neck standing up for no particular reason.

The second hint was more noticeable to those around him as the Enchanted Ceiling changed from its reflectance of a quiet afternoon to a full blown storm in moments.

Many students shrieked and the professors glanced at one another in confusion as Umbridge rose from her seat before Dumbledore could.

"_Hem-Hem_…. Will all students please remain seated and quiet down." She said in her sugary sweet voice and most students turned to watch her.

"There is absolutely no reason to panic because of a ceiling that…" She tried to continue but was cut off abruptly when the doors to the Great Hall were slammed open by force.

Everyone turned to the entrance as a man appeared there, dark robes billowing around his thin frame as he stormed in, wand in hand and a murderous expression on his face as he was followed closely by another man.

Several students close by shrieked in fear as they recognized the man and some grabbed for their wands.

"Expelliarmus, Colloportus, Impedimenta, Silenco." The man said in a firm voice and Harry gasped as hundreds of wands flew out of the hands of their owners and towards the stranger while simultaneously all doors slammed shut, clearly locking themselves, everyone got slammed into their seats, knocking the air out of those who had been attempting to stand up and startled screams were suddenly cut off.

The man waved his wand once more and every wand zooming towards him with high speed fell to the ground at his feet. The man behind him didn't even bat an eye at the display as they both easily stepped over the pile of wands and strode towards the Head Table.

Harry felt his heart rise into his throat as he finally recognized the two men as they came closer.

Sirius and Remus.

No.

Sirius was still a fugitive, what was he doing here. Dumbledore wouldn't be able to protect him here and Umbridge was sure to have him arrested in seconds.

Harry wanted to call out to his godfather, tell him to run but the words wouldn't come out as his eyes widened as he caught sight of the expression on both men's faces.

Sirius looked absolutely murderous. He looked angrier than Harry had ever seen him before, even angrier then when he was faced with Pettigrew in third year. He didn't even glance to the numerous of terrified students as he passed them without breaking his stride. Remus, who almost walked in step with him now seemed to switch between worry and suppressed anger.

Harry couldn't help but be awed by the amount of power his godfather radiated even if he was terrified for his safety. Sirius wouldn't have needed a silence spell to keep everyone quiet as the anger radiating off him would have silenced everyone just as well.

"Hem-Hem" …Almost everyone, it seemed that Sirius hadn't included the staff table in his silencing spell, though most of the staff seemed gob smacked to see the two.

"Who do you think you are, entering like that." Umbridge called out angrily as she attempted to stand up but found she could not. Apparently Sirius had stuck the staff to their chairs even if he hadn't silenced them. Harry wondered why before he got his answer almost immediately.

"Are you Umbitch?" Sirius asked, completely ignoring that she had spoken as he came to a halt before the teachers table and stared at her as he seemed to take in her appearance, his eyes lingering on the black bow on her head for a long moment. Several students suppressed a silenced snicker at his expression changed from anger to clear repulsiveness.

"My boy…don't do anything stupid." Dumbledore warned softly, a disapproving expression on his face when he realized he was unable to move either.

"Shut up, I'm dealing with you later. I believe I asked the pink toad a question." Sirius' expression turned angry again as he waved his hand at Dumbledore, whose mouth immediately closed and Harry had the impression Sirius had silenced him too.

"Why I have never. I am Dolores Umbridge, Senior Under-se..."

"I don't give a rat's ass what you are except for your name. So you are indeed the bitch I want to have a word with. That's good. Get of your high seat so we can talk before I hex you." Sirius cut her off as Remus brushed passed him to casually lean against the Gryffindor house table, like Sirius barging into a full hall in anger was an everyday occurrence for him. As he leaned against the empty area of the table he made absolutely no indication that he was going to stop Sirius from what he was doing anytime soon. If anything, Harry got the impression he was having Sirius' back in case anything unexpected happened.

A single wave from Sirius' wand brought Harry's attention back to his godfather as Umbridge almost slammed face first into the table before her as the freezing spell on her was lifted.

"Who do you think you are that you can talk to me like that!" Umbridge called out in clear anger, any pretence of the sugary voice gone as she placed her hands on the table before her as she raised quickly, her entire posture shaking with anger.

"My name is Sirius Black and I will talk to you how I see fit. Now get down here before I make you come down." Sirius snapped at her.

Umbridge turned a nice shape of purple as his words sunk in and she realized just exactly who was standing before her. Her body went rigid for a moment before she raised her hand; seemingly not realizing her wand was lost somewhere in the pile of wands at the closed entrance doors.

"Sirius Black you are arrested under law…"

"Suit yourself." Sirius cut her off once more and with a quick sweep of his wand Umbridge was thrown out of her seat, over the table and landed onto the floor before Sirius' feet with an undignified squeal as the air was slammed out of her.

"How _dare_ you! I am…."

"How _dare_ you. I heard rumors about what you are doing at this school and if I find those rumors to have a truth to them I shall show you what else I _dare."_ Sirius said, not rising his voice but still able to cut through steel and most teachers winced at his tone and some attempted to shift away from the angry man, obviously feeling vulnerable without a wand.

"You are a convicted felon and wanted by the Ministry. You have no right to make treats to me!" Umbridge managed to force out as another motion from Sirius' wand put her harshly onto her feet again, once more knocking the air out of her lungs.

"I am not a felon and I am certainly not convicted. Being convicted would indicate that both a crime has been committed and a trial was given that did the convicting part. Neither one ever applied to me and the Ministry can go to hell for all I care. That lack of proper protocol and justice is not why I am here. Nor is my innocence."

Students glanced at one another in surprise as his words registered and Harry could almost hear their thoughts. Could it be true that this man had never received a trial? He had to grind his teeth to stop himself from yelling out that it was true, even if the Silencing spell Sirius had cast over them would have let him try.

"Then why are you here my dear boy." Dumbledore asked in a clear attempt to take over control again but a sharp glance from Sirius shut him up again.

"I am here because you as the so called headmaster of this school failed to keep one of your students safe and I will not stand by and watch while our kid is being hurt." Sirius answered him before turning back to Umbridge and Harry frowned at his words.

Their kid? What was Sirius talking about, he didn't have any children and who was the our indicated to, was it Remus?

"Now tell me. Did you or did you not use a Blood Quill on my godson."

More students glanced at each other at this but none made an attempt to break the spell as they all watched intently to the dark haired handsome man before the staff table who was making an utter fool out of Umbridge, not wanting to miss a thing being said.

Harry blinked once before he realized exactly what and who Sirius was talking about. He tried to shift his right hand out of view but couldn't move a muscle. How did Sirius find out about that? Worse, who could have possibly told him, barely anyone knew about it in the first place.

A quick glance towards Hermione and Ron told him they were just as surprised as he was so they were ruled out.

"I do not see how my teaching methods are relevant to the likes of an escaped convict." Umbridge sneered out in a way that reminded Harry eerily of Aunt Petunia.

"Do _not _let me repeat my question twice woman." Sirius said, a note of anger entering his voice again that even Umbridge wouldn't be able to miss and she flinched before she called out in anger.

"I have no obligation to answer to the likes of a murderer."

Above her head the Enchanted ceiling started thundering as something flashed in Sirius' eyes and Umbridge unconsciously took a step back from him. The chandeliers started rumbling and the plates on all four of the House tables clattered as Sirius' temper rose.

"I am going to give you one more chance to come clean before I will turn to easier methods that might turn me into one…Did you make my godson, Harry Potter, write lines with a Blood Quill."

"You would be wise to answer the question and not anger him any further." Remus added softly, speaking for the first time since they had entered. "You won't like the results."

"I will not take orders from a half-breed!" Umbridge spat at Remus before jumping when the rattling plates and goblets spat into millions of pieces. Various students silently shrieked but none of the broken pieces actually touched the immobile students as they instead slammed into an invisible wall before them.

Harry felt his mouth fall open as he saw the shimmering of a barrier in front of the students that hadn't been there before the plates had broken. How had Sirius erected that shield around hundreds of students in that quick of a time span, without uttering a single word while his temper flared. A quick glance around showed that same realization traveling through most students too. If Sirius had wanted to harm them, they would have been long death. With that knowledge most students relaxed against their invisible bounds and watched the show before them intensively.

Umbridge' eyes flashed between Sirius and the millions of broken pottery pieces that collected themselves above her head silently. Her eyes widened as she caught the eerily calm expression on Sirius' face as he stared at her with unforgiving eyes. Without a single movement or enchantment from him the wall shattered above her head, showering her in shiny slivers of stone and glass which caused shallow wounds on her face and exposed arms. She shrieked in pain before her eyes widened and she gasped in pain, clutching hard at her right arm as she stared at Sirius in shock. The shower should have hit him too with how close he had been to her but the glass had fallen around him without leaving a single trace on his robes or body.

Harry quickly glanced at Remus to see if he was alright too but the man was still leaning against the Gryffindor table and had been protected by the shield erected around the students.

"You…you…."

"I do not need a dark object to cause pain to tyrants." Sirius said, his voice soft but clearly hearable in the otherwise shocked silence of the great hall.

"You will not insult my family ever again or you will find out exactly why this is child's play compared to what I could do to you."

"You really don't need to defend my honor like that Siri. I'm not really bothered by what that toad might think of me." Remus said a bemused look on his face and in his voice.

"I have every need to do so. She refused to tell the truth to a simple question and insulted a member of my family. I will not stand by and let that snake bitch insult and harm my family without consequences."

"What did you do anyway?" Remus asked with a slight role of the eye and a fond smile lingering on his lips as he received quite a few surprised glances from various students, whom all remembered him from two years before when he had still been a professor.

Harry was aware that they were probably shocked to see the dangerous supposed Death Eater Sirius Black act as if professor Lupin was family and that they were on such friendly terms. Harry almost snorted as they didn't even know half of it how close those two were.

"She made our boy write with a Blood Quill. I am not quite as barbaric as to use such a foul item on even the likes of her but couldn't not repay the action by writing words of my choosing on her skin."

"Sounds fair enough. What did you write on her arm?"

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Sirius answered as a quick movement with his wand tore Umbridge' right sleeve off, revealing the bleeding red words carved into her lower arm deeply enough to surely leave the words clearly visible for the rest of her life.

"I must not deny the truth." Remus read before he let out an amused snort.

"Fitting to the situation." He commented.

Umbridge' gasped for air as tears filled her eyes. Though if it was from anger or humiliation Harry couldn't tell.

He knew he should probably feel disgusted by what Sirius was doing to her, but he couldn't even bother pretending to be so as he knew she only got what she deserved.

It was pretty gruesome but she truly deserved it for what she did to the students and not just Harry himself.

"Hurts doesn't it? And this is so much less than what you deserve for using such a foul torture device on an innocent boy. I have no doubt you have used that and other methods on the other students as well but those students are not my concern. Harry however is my concern so here is what's going to happen from now."

Sirius flicked his wrist and Umbridge was forced to stand up straight again under his silent power, angry tears running down her face as he forced her face up so she had to stare at him again.

"You are going to back away from this school as far as you possibly can. You will not interfere with their classes and what they learn anymore. You will get your dear fool of a Fudge to get his ass into gear and stop spreading lies about Harry. Then you will start preparing to fight against Voldemort before he takes over this whole bloody country while you Ministry people are busy sticking your heads into each other's ass and licking his filthy boots. And while you are busy actually manning up your government and uncorrupting it you will shut your foul mouth and stay as far away from my godson as is humanly possible or I will tear you apart limb by limb very slowly."

For a few moments even Umbridge' gasps seemed to have disappeared as the entire hall stared at Sirius in shock, teachers included. Harry himself didn't seem capable of shaking his shock off, despite knowing Sirius fairly well by now. He didn't for a moment think Umbridge would listen to his godfather though, no matter how scary he might seem now and he wasn't disappointed.

"You-Know-Who is _not _back. That is a lie spread by that insolent boy!" Umbridge spat out, her eyes wide as she glared towards where Harry was sitting before she gasped louder than before and bowed double with pain while moaning.

"I believe you were just warned against insulting my family." Sirius commented lightly, not seemingly surprised at her words either. He turned to the Gryffindor table and his eyes searched the table for the first time actually seeing the students before his eyes fell onto Harry and he nodded to him.

"Could you come here Harry?" He asked as another nod told Harry he'd be able to move again. Harry slid off the bench with ease, aware that every eye in the room would now be following his movement as he stood up straight and walked towards Sirius. Surprisingly few students seemed alarmed at him being called forward though a few seemed to be convinced he was walking to his death and regarded him with fear.

Harry however didn't feel an ounce of fear for the man he was walking towards. Even if he hadn't known Sirius was in fact innocent then he would still have not felt fear for him.

Sirius had stormed into a crowded great hall, under the eyes of hundreds of witches and wizards who were all armed before he entered. He left Grimmauld Place despite direct orders from Dumbledore to not do so under any circumstances. Despite the fact that most of Wizarding England was hunting him, he had come to Hogwarts. Into the heart of magic and the future generations because he heard a rumor that Harry was being made to write with a bloody Blood Quill.

He risked his freedom; his safety and a one way ticket back to hell because he believed Harry wasn't completely safe. _Based upon a rumor._

He loved Harry enough to actually threaten both the Ministry and Dumbledore because he believed _his _boy was being hurt. Harry still wondered how he had found out about the Blood Quill but suddenly it wasn't as important anymore as he looked up into the warm grey eyes of the one person he realized would always have his back no matter what. The one person who would always try to protect him, who would probably walk into Voldemort's lair of Death Eaters if he thought it would keep him safe.

The one man who loved him more than anything outside his own parents.

How could he ever fear Sirius, no matter how much raw power there seemed to be radiating around him, he was still his Sirius and he as he came to stand at Sirius' side that same power wrapped around him steadily like a cocoon of protection. Making him feel safe and content, despite having the entire hall stare at him.

He also realized that same raw power was keeping the other teachers quiet. A subtle glance in their reaction registered shock but no fear. No one was even attempting to interfere with Sirius, not even Snape even though there was a scowl on his face.

Sirius' left hand came to rest on his shoulder automatically as the man turned back to Umbridge, who had sunk down onto her knees, clutching her right shoulder that was bleeding freely while Sirius attention was with Harry. Harry figured Sirius hadn't been kidding when he said he'd tear he apart limp by limp if she basically as much as glanced at Harry.

Sirius ignored her however as he glared at her.

"This boy is a lot braver than any of you Ministry fools have ever been combined. Calling him a liar just shows how much of a bunch of cowardly bastards you are."

Sirius squeezed Harry's shoulder softly as he turned to the students again, his gaze shifting over the Gryffindor table once more before resting on one individual and waved his wand before speaking.

"Hermione, could you tell me what a Pensieve is please."

Harry frowned at the change of subject as Hermione almost audibly gulped as Sirius singled her out but didn't seem to mind as at a nod of Sirius she rose from her seat and quickly answered the question.

"A Pensieve is an object used to review memories. It's basically a shallow stone basin with runes carved into it. It can be used to siphon memories of someone into it so that they can then be viewed from a non-participant, third person point of view."

"That is the correct answer Miss Granger. If I had been able to you would retrieve ten points for Gryffindor." Remus praised her and Hermione beamed at him as at a nod from Sirius Hermione sat down again.

"Indeed well summarized thank you. Who else can confirm that Hermione Granger's definition of a Pensieve is correct? Raise your hand if she is correct please."

Harry didn't know if it was the shock or if it was the way in which Sirius asked the question, but three fourth of the students present raised their hand to confirm Hermione's words. Even Slytherins raised their hands to their question.

"Good, so now we all know what a Pensieve is and what it can be used for. Now I ask another question of…let's say the pretty little blond at the Ravenclaw table." Sirius nodded to who Harry identified as Luna, who immediately rose from her seat as if undisturbed by his earlier spell. Harry saw from the corner of his eyes that Sirius did not seem surprised at her action as a small smile broke through on his face.

"You are the daughter of Maureen Lovegood* aren't you? You look just like her." Sirius said softly and Luna smiled at him widely as she nodded. Harry spared a surprised glance at his godfather at recognizing his airy headed friend so easily before he realized he must have known Luna's mother from his own time at Hogwarts and he had just said Luna looked a lot like her mother.

"Tell me…Luna if I recall correctly, what would be the easiest way to see if someone is telling a lie or not about a certain event."

"Well Sir, I would say that a Pensieve would be a very good tool to verify the truth as it is widely known that a Pensieve repels the effects of a Nargle infection."

Harry suppressed a groan as she ended her sentence. Trust the sweet naïve Ravenclaw to completely lose any credibility with her own words no matter how smart she was.

Sirius however nodded.

"Yes, that is correct. Although spells can be used to confound wizards, the same does not happen with their memories. If you tamper with a memory, or as you so widely say, Nargles infect them, it is clearly evident in the Pensieve because it acts as a third person based view and only the person confounded sees the memory differently. That is why the Pensieve was always standard procedure in trials before Voldemort' first rise to power and he corrupted enough officials to ban the use of one."

Harry stared openly at Sirius, as did many others as he basically confirmed Luna's believe in the existence of Nargles but transformed it into something everyone else understood without losing anyone's attention to disbelieve.

"Nargles are not powerful enough to truly work on a Pensieve." Luna said with a smile and Sirius nodded again.

"Even Merlin himself could not confound the memory in a Pensieve as it is seen in third person. You see everything the person whose memory it is saw, but so much more. And it is quite hard to mess with the entire memory like that and do it so that others will not notice."

"It is impossible to do so Mr. Black."

"Yes it is. So…why would the Ministry fail to use his very easy option to verify to see if Harry was telling the truth when they did not believe him on his words."

"Oh, that is easy Mister Black. If Minister Fudge had given Harry the opportunity to prove he was telling the truth then they would have to admit to being wrong and they don't like doing that." Luna answered with a shrug.

"More like the Ministry would rather tell a complete lie than to admit they've been incompetent fools, even if it means innocent people suffer for their actions." Remus commented his tone angry and disgusted as he looked at Sirius who shrugged.

"Thank you Luna. You can call me Sirius by the way." He said with a smile to her.

"My pleasure Sirius." She answered his smile before she sat down again, seemingly obvious to the stared directed at her.

Harry had to admit her nerve. She had pleasantly spoken to Sirius as if he was just another teacher among the staff. Had given him respect like one too as if he wasn't an escaped criminal in her eyes at all.

"The incompetence of the Ministry is not something I will stand by and watch anymore. You may lie to the adults all you want, but these children deserve a fighting chance. It doesn't matter what house they belong to, each and every one of them should be given the chance to know the truth and prepare themselves for what is sure to come, no matter what side they will take." Sirius said with a glare directed at Umbridge and Harry glanced at her too, surprised she hadn't interrupted yet. That one glance was enough to tell him that Sirius had Silenced her and bound her in place somewhere along the way as she stared at him through furious and frightful eyes, though Harry thought he could see a small shimmer of alarm too as she tried to struggle against her bonds without result.

Sirius then turned to Dumbledore.

"I am going to use you Pensieve to do what you should have done the morning after Voldemort returned to his body. Instead of using your status in the Wizarding World to protect Harry from ridicule and showing everyone what had happened so they could see for themselves that he was telling the truth, you let the Ministry sketch him as a lying attention seeking lunatic. That is the third occurrence in which you failed to do your job properly and I am sick of waiting for you to take charge. From now on you are no longer in charge."

Harry didn't know what he found more amazing. The look of shock and disbelieve on Dumbledore's face or the expression of pure loathing on the face of his godfather.

He was at once reminded of another occurrence where the two Marauders had basically kicked Dumbledore' behind for not doing as they wished and had to suppress a grin at the memory of the battered headmaster.

Even now, though Sirius clearly had his temper completely under control, Dumbledore looked weary to be at the receiving end of his gaze.

Sirius made another gesture with his hand and Fawkes appeared out of nowhere to drop Dumbledore's personal Pensieve in Sirius hands before landing on his shoulder. Sirius stoked the phoenix' feathers for a moment, seemingly unaware of the shock on everyone's face at the sight of Dumbledore's familiar taking Sirius' side.

Harry glanced at Dumbledore, who looked equally shocked and another glance at Fawkes, who was showing Sirius affection by rubbing his head against Sirius' cheek told Harry that the phoenix was as equally unimpressed with Dumbledore's lack of action as Sirius was.

"Thank you Fawkes." Sirius said as he examined the Pensieve for a moment before holding it out to Remus, who hadn't moved from his relaxed position at all but now leaned forward to examine the stone basin with his wand before placing it on the table beside him.

"It is in good condition." He said and Sirius nodded before he turned to Harry, his grey eyes softening a little as he nodded at him.

Harry took a deep breath, knowing Sirius wanted him to give him the memory of that night and nodded.

Sirius have a tiny nod back before he raised his hand and Harry closed his eyes as he mentally pulled the memory to the front of his mind, having learned how to do so the previous summer while Sirius was teaching him Occlumency, thinking it to be a good idea to shield his mind against Voldemort with the things he had seen in his dreams during fourth year.

He felt the tip of Sirius' wand softly tap his head and the sensation of the memory being removed before he opened his eyes in time to see the silvery white substance flying into the Pensieve and swirling there.

Sirius took a hold of his shoulder again and directed him to Remus who shifted a little so Harry could lean against the table beside him. But even as he copied Remus' position he could feel the other man's body heat as their shoulders and arms touched lightly.

It took Harry a moment to realize Remus had only moved a tiny bit on purpose so that Harry could draw comfort from his close presence.

He knew Sirius would need to do something that made the entire great hall see the memory at the same time and thus he'd be forced to see it again too.

Harry felt grateful for the thoughtful gesture from the other man and he slightly brushed his arm against Remus' to indicate that, which got him a slight fleeting smile in return.

Sirius moved closer and picked Fawkes from his shoulder before placing the bird on Harry's lap where he settled immediately before moving to stand before the Pensieve and Harry glanced at him confused for a moment before he realized his godfather had basically put him into a position that shielded him between the two men and Fawkes would be a good protection too.

From the widened eyes of several close by students he realized the students understood the hidden meaning behind it too.

Harry was under the protection of these two dangerous men. And although everyone at the school had known Remus while he was a professor and almost everyone had liked the man, something which had barely changed after they had found out he was a werewolf. They all knew the man was calm, collected and kind. But they also knew he had been one hell of a teacher and pretty powerful.

No one truly knew Sirius though. They had only heard rumors of what he'd done according to the Ministry, which many now clearly doubted the truth of. But the display of power earlier had shown the students and staff alike that this was not a man to underestimate, even if they did doubt his guilt.

He had already shown with Umbridge that he held no hesitation to hurt though he deemed a treat to Harry.

Sirius tapped the bowl and muttered something under his breath before waving his wand upwards before the entire Enchanted ceiling and walls glowed under his movement and shimmered as the memory surrounded them all.

Harry shifted his gaze away from the great hall and the students who watched in interest as he and Cedric both grabbed what would turn out to be a Port key. He instead turned his gaze towards Fawkes who had shifted closer to him and softly stroked his feathers, understanding that Sirius had put him there for his comfort as Sirius needed to keep his attention at the Pensieve.

"Are you alright Harry?" Remus asked him in a whisper and Harry looked up to him, ignoring the background which showed him Peter Pettigrew cutting of his own hand while speaking.

"Yeah. I just don't want to see it again." Harry whispered back and Remus nodded before he glanced up. Harry followed his glance and caught Sirius' eyes as the older man looking at him narrowing his eyes slightly as if to ask the same question Remus had. Harry nodded at him and Sirius smiled softly at him before turning his attention back at the Pensieve.

Harry looked back at Fawkes, who kept remarkably quiet as if knowing how important this was and Harry wondered how Sirius knew the phoenix and had won his trust.

Remus shifted beside him and erecting a privacy shield around them before he turned to Harry, making Harry realize he had whispered the question.

"Fawkes and Sirius are old friends. Remember how Fawkes got Sirius out of Dumbledore's office during that prank." Harry nodded at his question and Remus smiled.

"After that Sirius occasionally snuck in to chat with Fawkes. And if I had had a really bad full moon he asked Fawkes for a tear to heal the worse of my wounds. Fawkes was always happy to help him if he asked and it seems their unusual friendship remained."

"I can't believe Sirius managed to get behind Dumbledore's back like that." Harry asked softly, despite the Privacy charm.

Remus shrugged. "There was a lot that Sirius and James did and to an extent Peter and I behind his back. Sirius was on friendly terms with all the ghosts, including Peeves. James often called him insane but due to his friendship with the ghosts we could move places without being told on to Filch or a teacher. The House elves too. Sirius knew the names of several House elves, could separate them from one another too once we found the kitchen in first year. He remained friendly with all of them, which in turn led to several of them going out of their way to help Sirius out when needed."

"So he made useful friends?" Harry asked confused. It didn't sound like the Sirius he had gotten to know to make friends the way Malfoy would.

"No, he sincerely meant to be friends. He often tried to help the House elves with their cleaning at night, had fun with them in the kitchens and involved them in some of his prank ideas. But when caught he took the full blame, protecting them."

Remus grinned. "Well…you know how House elves are. His actions made them absolutely adore him. I believe they would have walked on fire if he had asked them too, not that he ever did. But even now, the House elves clearly remember him and work their magic to help him."

"Help him how? Isn't Sirius keeping everyone locked in their seat and silent on his own power?"

"Oh he is, never doubt Sirius' sheer stubbornness and will power. But the moment offensive magic was used inside Hogwarts by someone not meant to be here the Ministry was alerted. There are officials attempting to break into the great hall as we speak. On his own Sirius would probably be able to keep them out for another hour or so before he became exhausted. Instead the House elves combined their magic to aid him and are keeping every entrance door locked. I believe Hogwarts itself is coming to his aid as it agrees with Sirius."

"Hogwarts itself is trying to help Sirius? You mean even the castle itself works with Sirius?"

"Yes. It did so in the past too. When we still thought the worse of him the castle helped him sneak in undetectably and shut plenty of portraits down so they couldn't alert Dumbledore while Sirius went after Wormtail. Helped him flee too when Ron woke up. Have you never wondered why not a single portrait outside of the Fat Lady and Sir Cadogan ever saw him?"

Harry shook his head. He couldn't admit to having ever given it much thought but now that Remus pointed it out it made sense that Sirius had had help escaping and entering and it wasn't so weird that Snape had thought Remus to have helped him.

"Why did the castle and the House elves help him if he was an escaped convict like everyone believed?"

"Because they knew him to be innocent like many of us should have realized." Remus answered and Harry nodded.

"Is that how you got in now?" He asked to which Remus snorted.

"No, we didn't need help this time. Sirius simply barged through the hallways, radiating so much anger and power that all the portraits kept quiet in fear he would slash them down."

Harry chuckled at the thought before looking at Remus.

"Why did you come with Sirius today? He's doing a fine job threatening Umbridge on his own isn't he?" He asked before frowning at how his words came out. "Not that I am not glad to see you it's just…"

"I promised you a while ago that I would do my best to not let him kill anyone didn't I?" Remus said with a smile.

Harry simply stared at him for a moment before he remembered he had indeed once asked Remus to keep Sirius from killing Dumbledore.

"I didn't think that still stood."

"It will always stand. Though I must admit I was curious to what he would do too. I am a bit surprised you are not arguing with him against his methods."

Harry glanced towards Umbridge, who despite obvious disgust couldn't seem to look away from the memory, before looking back into Remus' green eyes.

"She is a horrible woman and frankly I had expected Sirius to do so much worse than what he did."

Remus nodded to him before he glanced up and waved his wand, taking the privacy charm down. Harry glanced up too and noticed the memory was almost over. He glanced from Sirius' unreadable expression to the students who were all memorized in the memory. Almost every single face registered shock and disgust.

All of a sudden Sirius waved his wand and the memory finished and the great hall returned back to normal.

Sirius paused for a few moments as the students sat in shock at finally learning the truth. Some, who had clearly already known the truth, like Hermione, Ron, Neville and Luna turned to him immediately but most just stared before them.

"Let's see how you contain the lie you've spread now that every student at Hogwarts knows the truth. Which they can share with their family through the use of another Pensieve easily." Sirius said as he looked at Umbridge, who looked away, refusing to look at him as her face was read in anger and disgust.

At his words most students broke out of their shock to stare at him, several glancing at Harry with different expressions on their face as they finally realized he had told the truth. Harry shortly caught the eye of his friends who all nodded slightly at him and he nodded back before shifting his gaze at Sirius again.

His godfather was staring at Umbridge in disgust before he waved his wand and she was thrown backwards against the Slytherin table.

Malfoy.

Suddenly interested in the reaction of the Slytherins Harry looked in their direction to see various expressions. Some, like Greengrass and Zabini looked horrified to know Voldemort was back, others like Malfoy and Parkinson seemed to almost gloat, likely already having known the truth. And even a few looked indifferent, like they couldn't care.

But although Malfoy seemed to gloat he also seemed angry, probably at having his father clearly shown as a willing Death Eater which went against everything Lucius Malfoy had ever told everyone.

Harry had to choke down a snicker as he spotted Susan Bones and some other Ministry children glare in the direction of Malfoy and knew they for sure would share the memory with their family.

Who knew, maybe Malfoy would even lose his power over this.

Harry shifted back to Sirius who had turned to Dumbledore now.

"Alright, now that the toad has been dealt with let's talk about you."

"Sirius my boy I..."

"DON'T CALL ME YOUR BOY!" Sirius yelled. "I am not and never have been _your _boy and I frankly find it very insulting to be spoken to like I am. There was once a time I would have followed your lead, listened to your advice. That advice led me to distrusting my closest friends, losing my best friend and spending twelve years in that hellhole while it tore Remus' life apart. You left Harry with the one person his mother wouldn't have wanted to force Voldemort himself upon and then proceeded to do everything you could to deny Remus any contact with him and myself after I escaped Azkaban.

You have absolutely no right to call me your boy or speak at all."

Sirius' glare was murderous enough to kill and Harry stifled a grin as Dumbledore paled upon seeing it directed at him.

"You made all three of our lives into living hells and I will not stand for it anymore. From this instance any deal we made about Harry's safety is off the table. He is coming home with us where he will stay till he gets his own place. The only reason I am not removing him from Hogwarts all together is only and I repeat _only _ because he loves it here and I trust most of the other teachers to keep him safe. Even Snape has done more to protect him in his first year than you have ever done and I have absolutely never trusted that bastard to begin with."

Harry blinked at the almost thankful note in Sirius' voice before he smiled widely at the realization that Sirius was truly taking charge of him now.

"Sirius Harry belongs with his family, you cannot…" Dumbledore stuttered.

"And that is where he will be going, to his real family. This means Remus and I. Not those stupid Dursley's."

"The Ministry will never allow..."

"The Ministry is filled with useless morons the likes of Umbitch and Fudge. Who kiss the robes of snakes like Malfoy because they have money. I have not an inch of faith that there are more than a handful of people like Arthur Weasley and Moody walking around in those walls. Anything they say should be taken as rubbish. And what they want and allow is something I have no concern about. _I _am Harry's legal guardian, stated in the Will of James and Lily Potter and confirmed in a blood adoption when he was a year old. Nothing they say is worth an ounce to that status since they failed to ever give me a trial that convicted me of a crime I did not commit."

"Sirius you must listen to reason, Remus is a werewolf. It is too dangerous to…"

"Too dangerous to what? Remus wouldn't hurt a fly even if it bugged him all day. And when it's the full moon he's very unlikely to spend it in the room with Harry even if he didn't have the Wolfs bane potion."

Sirius' eyes flashed. "Unless you think he is dangerous simply by being a werewolf at all, which would mean that you are a hypocrite all around by claiming to be for equal rights of all and by allowing such a _dangerous _person to follow an education at Hogwarts for seven years when there was no such thing as Wolf's bane yet. You would be admitting that you are not for equal rights at all and that you put hundreds of students in danger by secretly letting a werewolf roam around the castle freely among all those students for seven years. Are you saying that headmaster?" Sirius tone of voice had taken a dangerous hue to it that had even Harry tensing and several others trembling.

He was still sitting besides Remus and glanced at him, wondering if Sirius' words bothered him but he didn't seem bothered at all. Only angry at Dumbledore.

"No…I…I meant it is too dangerous because others, who are prejudged against werewolves, would act against you." Dumbledore tried to save face.

"And how would Harry be in more danger in the presence of two wizards who are very capable of defending him then in the presence of two powerless Muggles who would rather see him go than come?" Sirius asked.

"If they came in big numbers you wouldn't stand a chance."

Sirius raised a single eyebrow that had several students snicker quietly and Harry realized the Silencing charm had disappeared.

Remus snorted too, much louder than the students had.

"You mean to say that those cheer numbers would be capable of taking Sirius by force, when he disarmed, silenced and immobilized a few hundred witches and wizards for over a hour now, including a full fletched staff of supposedly powerful wizards and one who is claimed to be the strongest wizard after Merlin himself?"

Remus shook his head in disbelieve. "Even hundreds of Dementors couldn't stop Sirius when he thought Harry was in danger from Pettigrew and he was without a wand or a single ally then."

Remus paused. "Good Merlin, if he had truly wanted to harm Harry like everyone thought he did two years ago he could have simply barged in, killed everyone on the spot moments after arriving and you would have all been powerless to stop him as you have been now. Harry would have been dead ten times over along with everyone present in this hall right now if he had truly been a Death Eater like so many thought. He disarmed every single person in this room within seconds of arriving and as far as I can see it, all those wands are still lying harmless in a pile back there. How could you possibly think to be a better protection for Harry than Sirius has ever been?"

"That is different. I knew Sirius wouldn't come here to harm anyone now."

"You didn't know that two years ago. Nor did you now. Even I wasn't certain he wasn't simply going to kill the toad for what she did to Harry. And I know Sirius a whole lot better than you ever have. And even if the unlikely scenario of Sirius being unable to protect Harry came to play I am a pretty powerful wizard myself."

"Not to mention that we have been training Harry in what he needs to know all summer and will continue to do so every opportunity we get. He is very capable of defending himself too when the need arrives. He is not a weak little wizard that you can bend to your will Albus. Nor will I allow him to ever become one."

Sirius stood tall in front of the staff table as he stared Dumbledore down, who shrank a little under his fierce gaze.

"So I will tell you what is going to happen from now on too. You will face responsibility for endangering the safety of the students over the course of the last few years. Trolls, possessed teachers, dangerous charlatans, Basilisks roaming free, which you truly should have realized upon Sir Nicholas being petrified because seriously, what else could possibly petrify a ghost. And not only that, but you housed Dementors at Hogwarts, grudgingly, but you did. Dementors, which as Remus and Fudge told you before seemed to have little effect on me. Where were all the extra security measures? You didn't lock the secret passage ways that Filch knows about; you didn't get extra security for the students near their dorms. You didn't ask Remus for other secret entrances which you surely should have realized he would have known after all we were up to during our own school years. No precautions on the school grounds for students who are sure to be adventurous and might have entered the Forbidden Forest, which you knew some, had already done the year before. I could have killed the Weasley Twins several times when they entered the forest repeatedly two years ago while I was hiding there. Not to mention that the person every staff member thought it was after had shown a tendency to do the exact same thing as proven in the two years before that."

Sirius' eyes shot fire as all students stared at Dumbledore, who shrank even more under Sirius' harsh words.

"Not only that, but you kept your suspicions from Harry. A boy who owns various means of walking around undetected at night and any other time. Not to mention that you failed to realize Crouch Jr was an imposter despite Moody being one of your so called closest friends for a full year till it was almost too late. You let that toad do as she pleases, let her use a torture device on _my _godson while pretending everything was going swell when I asked after him repeatedly this year."

Harry hadn't thought it possible but Sirius' glare became even more fiercely as the Enchanted ceiling, which had been turning darker than dark again since the moment he had started his rant against Dumbledore started thundering and flashing lightening again.

"If I hadn't found out about that bloody Quill…I wonder. Would you have taken action at all to ensure the safety of my godson and all the other students? Or would it have taken a disaster for you to finally get your ass into action?"

Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak and closed it again, before repeating the motion a few times, looking very much like a fish on land.

"You know what…don't bother answering that. You never took action before when it was truly needed. From this moment on you will stay the hell away from my godson. You will not speak to him unless it is related to his education and cannot be handled by McGonagall. You will not seek him out or find contact with him through his friends and associates. You are no longer welcome at our home for any business, official or not. If I even catch a sniff of you approaching Harry through any means I will take action against you. And it will not be the gentle kind."

"More a repeat of what happened last summer." Remus added calmly and Dumbledore's already pale expression paled even further as he clearly remembered the same thing Harry did.

"Good, I see you remember that. Those hexes and curses we threw at you then will be nothing compared to what I will do upon learning you try to direct Harry. And trust me when I saw I have more eyes and ears in these walls that you will ever have."

It sounded encrypted and various students frowned and whispered about his words but Harry, remembering his earlier conversation with Remus knew he meant the House elves and the castle itself.

"Is that how you found out about the Blood Quill?" He couldn't stop the question from tumbling out.

Sirius turned to him. "No, our new House elf told me that."

"New House elf?" Harry asked confused. "What happened to Kreacher?"

"He is still around. But this little fellow came by, concerned for your safety and having promised you years ago to never try to save your life again he didn't know what else to do than to come to someone you trusted."

Harry blinked before he smiled widely, knowing exactly who Sirius was talking about.

"You took him on as our house elf?"

"He insisted. Persuasive little fellow and a true nice sight to see bouncing around the rooms. I will have to buy him some nice hats though; the things he wears now are absolutely ridiculously ugly."

Harry snickered as Sirius basically insulted Hermione's homemade hats and from the glare Hermione shot him she too had realized what they were talking about.

"I hope you are at least paying him!" She called out and Sirius snickered.

"Fat chance of that. I did offer but he called it an insult to be paid to look after his Harry Potter sir. We'll buy him something nice for Christmas." Sirius added and Hermione huffed but fell silent.

Sirius turned back to Dumbledore.

"Heed my warning you worthless old man or I will be coming back." He waved his wand at Dumbledore who flinched.

"There is now a curse placed upon you. I won't tell you what it is or what it does. I shall hope you will not be stupid enough to try and find out by coming anywhere near Harry."

Sirius turned to Snape who sneered at him. "The same goes for you. Although I am grateful that you kept Harry safe these last three years despite the mutual feelings between us all, I will not tolerate your behavior toward him. Harry is _not _James despite how what you might believe. He has had no part in any hatred between the Marauders and you and doesn't deserve to be treated as such. Treat him any differently than you would any other student, same with his friends and you will bear the consequences. And for your sake I will remind you, I do not need the Cruciatus Curse to inflict pain upon those I dislike as you should well remember."

Harry, who had shifted uncomfortable when Sirius had turned to Snape felt his mouth drop open upon seeing Snape of all people pale slightly at Sirius' words and the slight nod that followed, had many other students gasped too.

"I am glad we have an understanding."

Remus stood up from his leaning position, placing a hand on Harry's back to make him do the same.

"Professor McGonagall. Even though the holiday will not officially start till tomorrow. I would like to ask for your permission to take my godson home right now already so that we may enjoy the holidays together and he won't be overran with questions of his fellow students till everything has sank in a bit more deeply." Sirius sounded formal all of a sudden and Harry, among others had to blink a few times as the difference in tone his godfather suddenly held.

Where it had held various notes of anger, disgust and threatening it now held a note of respect and most students openly stared at the Deputy Headmistress. That Sirius Black, the man who had just openly and quite thoroughly threatened Umbridge, Dumbledore _and _Snape spoke to professor McGonagall with such open and clear respect made many see her in a new light and the respect everyone already felt for the stern professor rose tremendously.

McGonagall simply stared at Sirius for a long moment before Sirius let out a chuckle and waved his wand.

"Sorry Professor, I forgot to take the Silencing Charm down on the staff table."

"Only you would forget something like that Mister Black." McGonagall said, though her tone of voice was not angry.

"Is there even the slightest chance that anything else than me saying yes would have any effect on your plans Sirius?" She asked.

"None whatsoever. But I respect you enough to at least pretend and ask for your permission regardless of my actions." Sirius answered easily and McGonagall sighed.

"You may take him home Sirius. I assume your house elf has already packed up his belongings and taken them to your home?"

"Assumed correctly professor. We will not be staying in London though. This will be a holiday for the family. You will receive an invitation later this evening that will open only for you. Just send your answer with my owl and I will arrange things accordingly to your answer." He added before he bowed slightly for her, showing once more the amount of respect he held for her before he turned to Harry.

"My business is finished here so let's go home shall we?"He proposed and Remus nodded.

"What about the others?" Harry asked as he waved his hand to indicate the other students.

"They will return home tomorrow morning, long before the ridiculous has regained consciousness and hopefully share their memories with their family. Some will probably take action and hopefully the fight against Voldemort will start going properly now. Or at least families will defend themselves accordingly to ensure their safety."

"They will tell their families about you too. They still think you are a murderer!" Harry exclaimed and Sirius shrugged.

"I think you will be pleasantly surprised, unless I am truly mistaken in Miss Bones's intentions?" Remus asked as he turned to Susan.

Susan colored deeply but shook her head.

"That was Peter Pettigrew in that memory. I recognize him from my aunt's papers. Mister Black was accused of killing Pettigrew but I just saw him alive and killing Cedric who died last year. So Mister Black must have been innocent of that crime. And Pettigrew is clearly a Death Eater. Add to that the fact that Mister Black indicated he has never received a trial, I will make my aunt get to the bottom of this and set things right." Susan answered fiercely.

Remus nodded to her. "Thank you Miss Bones. Tell your aunt that if she wishes to reach Sirius or me for any questions she should send your owl. I will make sure Sirius allows your owl access through our wards."

Susan nodded, as did Sirius who made a small movement with his wand. "Done."

"Good, shall we then?" Remus asked as he gave Fawkes a single pet over his feathers, making the phoenix thrill happily from its spot on Sirius' shoulder, where he had returned to after Harry had stood up again.

Harry nodded. "What about Hermione and Ron?"

"You will see them soon enough when we return from our short family time. And you can owl with them." Sirius said.

"Okay." Harry agreed easily, looking forward to spending quality time with Sirius and Remus.

"I will need my wand though." He said.

"It is in your robes." Sirius answered calmly and Harry patted himself a few times before locating his wand in his pocket.

"When…How?"

"You didn't truly think I'd leave you completely defenseless did you?"

"But the other students?"

"Their wands will return to them once we've left. Although I believe Luna already got hers." Sirius nodded to the Ravenclaw who indeed waved her hand at him and showed her wand while smiling.

"I don't even want to know." Harry said with a chuckle as he followed Sirius and Remus as they calmly walked past the tables.

"Sirius….you can't!" Dumbledore made one last attempt to try and stop Sirius before he yelled out in pain, turning everyone's attention to him.

"What did you do?" Harry asked curious as a firm hand on his back kept him from glancing back and to keep walking.

"Nothing that will kill him." Sirius answered with a wink and Harry chuckled.

"You are truly horrible Siri." He said with a small blush and Sirius smiled at him happily.

"Only when they touch my family pup."

"Then I am glad I am part of your family."

"So am I Harry. So am I." Sirius answered with a smile as they left the castle without any more interferences and he held his hand out to Harry.

"Care for a little Side Along Apparition to our destination?" He asked and Harry chuckled as he placed his hand in Sirius' while Remus took their other hands without having to be asked.

"Try not to get us lost Padfoot." He commented lightly and Sirius stuck out his tongue.

"That was James' fault, he distracted me."

Harry laughed at their playful banter to one another and couldn't help but look forward to this time spend with his two most precious people who both smiled cheeringly at him.

Even if the entire world would change around him tomorrow once the other students got home and told their families of what had happened. Even as everything would probably get thrown into chaos and he'd be looked upon differently. Even if Sirius might or might never get freed of the accusations against him, he knew the two men holding onto him would always have his back and stand at his side. Loving him for himself.

And that thought made Harry happier than any protective rant Sirius threw at the vilest of people in the world.

And as Sirius Apparated them to their place of destination Harry had the last thought that he truly should thank Dobby for telling Sirius what he did.

The end.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*Maureen Lovegood. I have no idea what Luna's mother is called or if Sirius knew her. I just always assumed he did. He as the type to befriend the different people and with how Luna's father is there no doubt that her mother was like that too.

I hope you enjoyed the story and reviews are always loved.


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